Swans Vs Bulldogs Game Day Thread

[mcs]

Nice observation. I think there is something in this. Also Mitchell is looking like he will find another gear or two with experience which will add to the run-with quandary for opposition coaches in the finals and next year.

Mitchell will no doubt find more than a gear or two more once he gets another pre-season and more games under the belt. Trying to keep Kennedy, Jack, JK and then Mitchell all under control will cause plenty of opposition coaches a lot of headaches for plenty of years to come. And that's before we think about what impact Jetta, Rohan and eventually BJ will have for teams trying to control our midfield

[liz]

Mitchell will no doubt find more than a gear or two more once he gets another pre-season and more games under the belt. Trying to keep Kennedy, Jack, JK and then Mitchell all under control will cause plenty of opposition coaches a lot of headaches for plenty of years to come. And that's before we think about what impact Jetta, Rohan and eventually BJ will have for teams trying to control our midfield

Not to mention Parker, Lamb and Bird who are, at worst, very solid second tier midfield contributors. Parker and Lamb have plenty of scope for improvement too.

[mcs]

Not to mention Parker, Lamb and Bird who are, at worst, very solid second tier midfield contributors. Parker and Lamb have plenty of scope for improvement too.

Of course To me though, maybe Lamb excepted potentially, Birdy and Parker aren't midfielder that are going to dominate a game. But they are players that can heavily influence a result without really getting noticed. We really do have the potential to have a very fine team for a number of years, even when the veteran brigade finally pull the pin.

[liz]

Of course To me though, maybe Lamb excepted potentially, Birdy and Parker aren't midfielder that are going to dominate a game. But they are players that can heavily influence a result without really getting noticed. We really do have the potential to have a very fine team for a number of years, even when the veteran brigade finally pull the pin.

Parker is way ahead of where Jack and JPK were at his age. It's folly to assume every young player will keep improving, but on the evidence of what we've seen, he may well become as dominant a midfielder as Jack, JPK, Macca and Hanners in a year or three. Some of his play against the Dogs was sensational - check out his delivery into the forward line - and like the rest of our midfielders, he is good both defensively and offensively. I think he is around 12th across the league for tackles laid this season and 15 goals is a pretty handy contribution from a midfielder, albeit one who rests forward occasionally.

[Ludwig]

Parker is showing every sign of becoming a dominant midfielder. His skill and quickness of both mind and body seems to grow by the week.

Birdy may not dominate, but has a way of being very influential without getting much notice. He does so many good things during the course of the game. I wouldn't be surprised that if given the role of being primarily an inside midfielder he would be ranked among the best.

[Primmy]

You will all of course remember watching MickyO splay legged evasiveness when he was a kid, and it didn't change. Some of these kids have their skill set in order, and then they grow bodies to match. Some of them have the bodies from the getgo, but acquire say evasive handskills. Joey is changing hands to handball these days, and I don't think that was something we noted before. We have got a mixed box of chocolates here, not a block of Cadbury.

[dimelb]

You will all of course remember watching MickyO splay legged evasiveness when he was a kid, and it didn't change. Some of these kids have their skill set in order, and then they grow bodies to match. Some of them have the bodies from the getgo, but acquire say evasive handskills. Joey is changing hands to handball these days, and I don't think that was something we noted before. We have got a mixed box of chocolates here, not a block of Cadbury.

Including some with centres so hard they'd break your teeth!

[Bloodthirsty]

You will all of course remember watching MickyO splay legged evasiveness when he was a kid, and it didn't change. Some of these kids have their skill set in order, and then they grow bodies to match. Some of them have the bodies from the getgo, but acquire say evasive handskills. Joey is changing hands to handball these days, and I don't think that was something we noted before. We have got a mixed box of chocolates here, not a block of Cadbury.

By the convenience store analogy, I guess that means that Adelaide has a crate of lemons and Collingwood have old unsold editions of Zoo Weekly that no respectable human being wants to be associated with.

[Doctor]

I was listening to the ABC commentary on Sunday and at one point they questioned why KJ was being given so much freedom. The opinion of the player on the panel was that Kennedy and Hanners were being heavily tagged and that a team can't have 3 players playing a tagging role. If this is the case then whichever 2 of the 3 gets heavily tagged, the other one gets to do all the damage (with the help of the other mids). That would explain why sometimes Hanners is 'king' and sometimes has a quiet game. Now that ROK himself is usually running with someone, JK is the main target and its a toss up between Jack and Hanners as to who gets the most attention on the day. With his greater experience Kizza probably handles a tag better than Hanners. Just imagine if we had Jets and a fit Goodesy running around as well!

The strategy is clearly that you have as many midfielders in your team as you can. The younger and older ones play outside, on centre wing or as defensive forwards or at centre half back. The elite play on the ball and the remainder (the non-mids) are KPPs. It was noticeable on Sunday that Jude played in the midfield for a time as we were clearly struggling a bit under the pressure the Dogs were exerting and the coaching staff felt that giving Jude some time on the ball would help the other mids get a break and mess up the opposition match ups. With Parker, Mitchell and Lamb coming through to supplement what we already have plus BJ as an outside runner we look like we'll be strong in midfield for many years to come, which is extremely exciting.

[ShockOfHair]

Robert Murphy column on playing at the SCG:

Carefully we ascended the staircase in our long stops, and as we reached the top of the stairs, we finally got a glimpse of the majestic SCG. There, we found ourselves only a few feet away from the exclusive members' bar. I took one sideways look out of the corner of my eye, just enough time to breathe in the wood-panelled walls, regal carpeting and the smell of beer. Sometimes, a glimpse is all you need.

Two hours later we had been systematically pulled apart by the highly efficient Swans. They were as impressive that day as any side I'd ever played against - organised, skilful, disciplined, tough. It came as no surprise to any of us that they went on to win the flag.

No easy road on footy journey